Why Variants Aren't a Problem, What the Bible is For, and a Question About the Bible's Completeness

Welcome to The Think Institute’s weekly Newsletter. Every Friday, you get one idea from me, a quote from somebody else, and something to think about. As I type this, I’m in Bumpass Virginia, where I’m teaching a Defend Your Faith Weekend at Little River Baptist Church. One key goal of The Think Institute is to provide robust, encouraging training to local churches. If you would like to help fund future trips like this, go here to make a gift. Or to bring our training to your church, go to our booking page now.

Now, let’s get into this week’s Newsletter.

AN IDEA FROM ME

The number of variants has been used by skeptics to raise suspicion about the reliability of the Bible. Bart Ehrman has repeatedly, publicly stated that there are 400,000 variants in the New Testament. We need to be honest about this: that is a scarily high number! Christian scholar Ed Gravely says that, when you hear that there are 400,000 variants, it can make you start to panic, because there are only 135,000 words in the New Testament!# 

However, a closer look at what is really going on with all these variants will help set your mind at ease. 

To begin with, understand that there are different kinds of variants. On the one hand, the vast majority (99%) of variants are considered minor. On the other hand, there are the “major” variants. Of these, only 1,500–2,000 could actually impact the meaning of the text. 

There is no need for these or other variants to trip you up or shake your faith. The point is that we can identify them. This is the point of textual criticism. We can discover these problematic passages, and thereby we can get closer to the original text. That is what we want, and the ability to do so is a blessing from God. 

Happily—and I want to stress this—not one single variant affects our theology. 

Get my free PDF resource, “How Much Has the Bible Been Changed?,” here.  

A QUOTE FROM SOMEBODY ELSE

“The Bible does some things more fully than others. It addresses some issues more carefully than others, and leaves others sort-of open-ended for us. For example, the Bible is very clear in that it ‘makes us wise for salvation….’ The Bible tells it very clearly that eternal life comes through Jesus, and faith in Him…. The heart of what the Bible is designed to do is not to answer scientific questions, it’s to answer questions of eternity. And the Bible does that very clearly.”

—Richard Pratt, “Can we trust the Bible to tell us the truth?” Can we trust the Bible to tell us the truth?

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

I was asked this question during tonight’s apologetics training. How would you respond?

“If they’re still finding scrolls, could the Bible we have be incomplete?”

P.S. There’s still time to give toward our Summer Debate Fund. Make a gift of any size to help these debates happen at this link. Thanks!